We had people from as far away as Detroit, Michigan but most from Phoenix, Lake Havasu City, Kingman, and of course the surrounding area of Cliff Castle Casino (Camp Verde, AZ). I lost in the semifinal match play 209 - 199. I ended up in 7th place out of a qualifying field estimated to be more than 165 entries.

We were told by the house that they had put down the PBA shot called, "Cheetah". There were many complaints and discussions, however, most of us took it in stride and merely had to make our adjustments (and of course, getting the right ball with the right reaction). Being a line bowler, I never had a chance with any inside lines so I ended up on the 2-board, with more speed than normal for me, and pointing the ball in - with the ball hanging partly in the gutter for the first 30 feet ...

Where the majority of people (including 'watashi' - me, in Japanese) messed up was the spare shooting. Many people shooting 180 and 190 games with two or three opens as well as 200 or 210 - with one or two opens. My 199 in the semifinal match play? Open frame in the 9th (boo!). These tournaments are handicapped based on 80% of 210. According to the statistics, in order to make the quarterfinals, the "A" Division (200 and above averages) it took a +8 (608 series) and the "B" Division (199 and below average) it took a +19 (619 series).

It was pretty balanced and the quarter finals included 10 women and an equal number of 60+ Seniors out of the 40 total who made it that far. Three women made it to the first semifinal cut and one of them advanced to the top six.

A brief description of how the competition was structured - there were 6 qualifying squads (multiple re-entry allowed) with a "cut score" being established after Saturday's final squad. Sunday had two last chance squads based on the +8 and +19 "cut scores". Forty-two people made it to the Quarterfinals where we bowled 3 games when the field was cut to the top 10 in each division. We then bowled one game and the field was cut to the top 4 in each division. The top 4 were paired off as 1st playing 4th and 2nd playing 3rd for one game of match play. The winners then squared off to determine the divisional winners. The 2 divisional winners then had one more game of match play with the winner being declared the champion.

This tournament, the 170 average bowler ended up winning the top prize of $2,500. 2nd place was $1,050 and 42nd place got $60.

Great turnout, wonderful venue, and terrific competition!

Last edited by choc576; 04/23/07 04:31 PM.

Clyde "Choc" Higa, Editor
http://bowling.bellaonline.com
USBC Bronze Certified Coach
International Bowling Media Association